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In EuroBasket on Wednesday and yesterday, we already had some big upsets. Portugal beat the Czech Republic. Georgia beat Spain. And Poland took down the newly svelte Luka Dončić and his Slovenian teammates. You can never predict what will happen in EuroBasket! And for you sickos who have trolled Bounce polls in the past, I will give you this update: Thanasis Antetokounmpo scored six points in a Greece victory over Italy.
Rank ‘Em!
The Bounce’s top 40 wings (sorry, lemon pepper)
We did it! Five positions. Five flawless lists of top-40 rankings. They said it couldn’t be done, but look at us now, Bouncers! Universally accepted rankings, as long as you don’t read comments or social media. If you’ve been following along religiously, you know we’ve already done big men, lead guards, shooting guards and forwards. That leaves us with ranking the top 40 wings in the NBA.
Much like at a BBQ or Super Bowl party, in the NBA, wings are the most versatile option you can employ. Some can guard 1-5. Some can fill in at lead guard or be a 3-and-D option. Some are just shooters. Some are scorers. Some are elite defenders. Some are LeBron James. Wings can make or break your NBA squad. These 40 wings are broken down into seven different tiers. Let’s jump in!
I think it’s pretty obvious to have LeBron, KD and Kawhi — the youngest of the three at 34 — in their own tier. I did contemplate including Butler in that tier because of how impactful he’s been for years, but decided to not quite put him with the three sure-fire Hall of Famers. Brown will have a massive season ahead of him with Tatum recovering from his Achilles injury. It will also be interesting to see how PG comes back from missing so much time last year.
Williams gets into that second tier just three years into the NBA, which is highly impressive. It’s also very deserved after the season he just completed (an efficient 21.6 PPG), helping OKC win a championship. It separated him from the third tier. I do wonder where Barnes goes with his game from here, because realizing his potential will be the difference between Toronto building up or just being another mediocre East team.
DeRozan is still a big-time difference-maker, and I’m already buying Thompson in this group based on assumptions of how he’ll improve upon his monster sophomore season.
Tier 4 is really fun with difference-makers. The Knicks get their two big wings in here. Both can score more than they’re often asked to. Maybe that’ll change under new coach Mike Brown? And both are great defensive weapons. Wagner will automatically jump a tier if he can just knock down that jumper a little more regularly. But everything else from him is pretty good. Ingram and McDaniels slide into this tier on a probationary basis. Ingram is capable of being an All-Star, and McDaniels could be a second Wolves player selected if Minnesota has a big start to the season.
As for Tier 5, there’s a ton of potential here. With Ausar entering the season healthy, let’s see if he can emulate his brother Amen’s leap. A healthy Miller for Charlotte could put up a great third season. I think Murphy is super underutilized offensively. Johnson will have a career year with Nikola Jokić passing to him … and I’m interested to see what MPJ looks like without Jokić passing to him.
Off the rip, I think Murray, Camara and Jones could take big leaps. I’m also highly sold on Coulibaly, although we need to see if the Wizards’ situation helps him take that next leap in Year 3. Miami needs Wiggins to bounce back. The Wizards could move Middleton at some point, and we’ll see his impact. NAW is a very important addition to Atlanta.
For Tier 7, I’m wondering if Risacher and Jaquez can take a big leap forward. The Bucks really need KPJ to be consistent as a playmaker. And I’m very excited about the Ace Bailey era with Utah, but this is, admittedly, me guessing that he can be good right away.
The Last 24
🏀 We’re waiting. When is this Jonathan Kuminga contract situation getting resolved? Our panel of experts has answers.
🗽 New Dawn? South Carolina women’s coach Dawn Staley interviewed for the Knicks job. She would have taken it if offered.
🏀 New culture. Trajan Langdon is a big part of shaping the Pistons back into a winning franchise. He explained that process.
🏀 Dallas again? First, it was Luka Dončić. Now, Dallas also watched Micah Parsons get traded. Not the same, but there’s still heartbreak.
Broadcast Shakeup
Legler in, Burke out for finals
ESPN is shaking up its NBA Finals broadcast coverage. The three-person team of Mike Breen, Doris Burke and Richard Jefferson is no longer calling those games together, Andrew Marchand reported. Meanwhile, former NBA player and current analyst Tim Legler is getting the promotion to join Breen and Jefferson. This is from Marchand:
“ESPN confirmed early reporting by The Athletic that Burke would be replaced by Legler during the finals and also announced that Burke has signed a multi-year extension. She will be on ESPN’s No. 2 NBA broadcast team with play-by-player Dave Pasch.”
First and foremost, I am happy for Legler. I’ve had the opportunity to team up with him at times on SiriusXM NBA Radio over the years. He’s one of my favorite people to discuss basketball with because his insight has a level of detail and expertise that is pretty much unmatched. And he’s incredibly fun to talk to, a great teammate and he doesn’t do the “back in my day …” stuff as an analyst. He celebrates and critiques today’s game in the way that I think makes people better and smarter basketball fans.
The interesting/tough part of this is Burke’s demotion. She’s been a prominent figure in NBA coverage for a long time and a pioneer in breaking barriers for women in the field. With that said, I don’t think that particular three-person team during the finals worked very well. It felt clunky and out of sync, at least to me.
Sometimes you can guess on-air talent has been given guidance on unnatural things to do during broadcasts. At least to my ear, it’s felt like Burke has been guided into some of that (not just her, but also plenty of broadcasters at certain companies). It turned a great on-air presence into something they felt comfortable moving down to the second team. It’s poor guidance, and it is probably meddling, too.
From the outside looking in, sometimes you can tell announcers are being told to talk like they’re smiling and loving what’s happening, even though if you just left them alone to their own devices, their passion for the game and their jobs would have that come through tenfold. You can tell some announcers are told to make catchphrases. Or force banter and chemistry. That stuff just gets in the way of talented people who can already do their jobs well.
I don’t know if replacing Doris was the right move to fix that three-person booth, but I do know that team wasn’t creating the experience it was supposed to for fans. Doris will be great with Pasch on games. And Legler will be great with Breen and Jefferson, I think.
Not everybody is going to agree with this move, and rightfully so. In fact, we want you, the Bouncer, to weigh in. This link is to a fancy, new poll tool that’s different from the ones you’ve participated in the past. It looks more official, and it feels more official. Vote early and vote often? I actually think you can only vote once. But check out the new cool thing we have!
Proven Incorrect
Mat Ishbia’s masterclass in debate
There are people roasting Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia online this week because of something he tweeted. It was in response to an aggregation of an ESPN article, in which the Suns were picked as “one of the teams most likely to tumble in the upcoming 2025-2026 NBA season.”
Ishbia isn’t being roasted for defending his organization. He is being roasted because he sort of threw his own team under the bus in the process. This is a real tweet you’re about to see. A verified tweet from a verified account (not that the latter part means anything these days, but you know what I mean). Take a look at Ishbia’s rebuttal to the notion his team won’t be as good as its 36-46 record last year.
I’m not worried about what the so-called experts think. They had us as a title contender the past two years and were wrong then. We’re focused on making our fans proud by playing great as a team and building a brand of basketball that’s tough and gritty. https://t.co/o9ysQlxW6r
— Mat Ishbia (@Mishbia15) August 27, 2025
Yes, he actually said you can’t concern yourself with basketball “experts” because they thought his team would be good. Yes, he’s using his own team’s failure to meet expectations as a reason these experts are wrong.
I know what you’re thinking. We should join in on roasting him. But I applauded. Genuine, earnest, thoughtful applause. And with good reason, too. What Ishbia unleashed in that tweet was brilliant. It’s actually a perfect response. Here’s why:
At no point did he tell you his team would be good or improved next season.
He said they’re focused on making fans proud, not that they will actually accomplish it.
And he said they’re focused on building a brand of basketball that is tough and gritty. Not that they’ve already built it.
What he wanted you to know is that “so-called experts” shouldn’t be the concern of Suns fans. Why? Because they’re wrong. They were wrong about the Suns being good, so there’s a chance they’ll be wrong about the Suns being bad or taking a tumble down the standings.
Sure, we could look at the fact that the Suns were 33-29 with Kevin Durant last season, but just 3-17 without. And yes, they traded away Durant to Houston. Logically, it’s fair to think the Suns won’t be as good because of this.
Realistically, the Suns staying in the 36-win range (or better?) will prove the “so-called experts” wrong here. They would have lost the argument because they chose something to argue. Ishbia may not be able to effectively run an NBA organization, but that man knows how to pick an angle. Bravo, sir.
(Photo: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
